


The Box

by LadyLaviniya



Series: Sleeping Star Swans [8]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Christmas, Christmas Fluff, Christmas Presents, Cute, F/F, Fluff, Gift Fic, Lily thinks she's sneaky, Surprises
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-25
Updated: 2017-12-25
Packaged: 2019-02-20 17:18:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,420
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13151325
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyLaviniya/pseuds/LadyLaviniya
Summary: And then it came time to unpack the leering red box, the elephant in the room. Emma took a deep breath and sat down beside it, smiling when Mom insisted on a picture. Thanks to Lily’s suggestion to save the biggest (and best) for last, everyone had their phones out, ready to witness and capture the moment of truth. Even Maleficent had her iPad.





	The Box

**Author's Note:**

  * For [justanoutlaw](https://archiveofourown.org/users/justanoutlaw/gifts).



> Merry Christmas, babe!

For some reason, the sight of that giant box with her name on it, taking up most of the room under the living room tree, made her nervous. It was more than its size, honestly, and God forbid its weight—what worried Emma more than anything else was the fact that not only it was from her girlfriend, but absolutely _no one_ had any idea what it contained.

Seriously, not even Maleficent had a clue, and she helped Lily bring it over.

Well, _bring_ was too generous a word... sneak was more Lily’s MO. She loved the thrill of it, breaking and entering like it wasn’t illegal because her intentions were pure.

It’s not like Emma didn’t give her a key specifically so she wouldn’t.

“I felt like Santa Claus!” Lily laughed over the phone later that day, “But gay. Lesbian Claus. And only for you.”

Emma shook her head fondly, poking the red wrapping paper with a tentative finger. “You didn’t get me a murder for Christmas, did you? This box looks like it could hold a body...”

Lily laughed again. “Chill, babe, no blood on my hands.” There was a pause. “Or in my teeth.”

“What?!”

“Nothin’. Forget it. Look, we got a bit left to go before the big day, so don’t get your top in a twist.” In a low voice, chuckling, she added, “You’re never gonna guess it anyway.”

Emma scoffed. “Oh, yeah?”

Even over the phone she could hear Lily smirking.

“Positive. I think I really outdid myself this time.”

* * *

The next day was spent wishing friends and family and all who came by her house a Merry Christmas. Maleficent, Regina, and Zelena came with Lily, Henry, and little Robin respectively; Belle and Gold came with Gideon; Ruby with Granny, and, of course, Mom, Dad, and Neal made it too. Even those who didn’t stay stopped by to say hello, like Aurora and her family, Astrid and Leroy, and even Tinkerbell.

All the while, the big red box in the living room sat patiently waiting for her attention.

After dinner, Emma shooed everyone out of her kitchen and into her living room, parents and children alike. Lily, being Lily, stayed behind to keep her company, wrapping her arms around her waist as Emma washed the dishes.

“Any guesses before I blow your mind?” she whispered, tucking a lock of blonde behind Emma’s ear. “I’ll give you seven tries. That’s a lucky number, isn’t it?”

Emma chuckled. Without twisting or turning, she handed Lily a wet plate. “Dry.” She waited until Lily took it and a dishtowel before continuing. “You already said I wouldn’t get it, so what’s the point?”

Hoisting herself onto the countertop, Lily sat beside the sink and dried the dishes as she got them. “Oh, there’s no point. I like to watch you squirm.”

She laughed when Emma scoffed and slapped her shoulder with her own dishcloth.

When they joined the rest of the family, they noticed their mothers off in the corner whispering to each other like a couple of gossipy hens, glasses of eggnog replacing wine. Emma shot Lily a look.

“Did you tell your mom and now she told mine?” she asked. Lily shook her head.

“Hell no. She helped me wrap the thing but she doesn’t know what it is...” She furrowed her brow. “Unless she does. I wouldn’t put it past her. Mom?!” She had to raise her voice to be heard over the chatter. Why she didn’t just take the ten steps it took to reach her beyond Emma.

Amidst a laugh, Maleficent turned her head. “Yes, dear?”

“What’re you guys talking about over there?” Lily asked with a tight smile.

Emma bit her lip. A hint couldn’t hurt, could it? And who better to give her one than their unsuspecting mothers? She watched the duo closely, Mom who took the opportunity to take a sip of her eggnog, and Maleficent who only sighed and shook her head fondly.

“Nothing about you. Promise.”

Lily scoffed. “Suuuure.”

* * *

And then it came time to unpack the leering red box, the elephant in the room. Emma took a deep breath and sat down beside it, smiling when Mom insisted on a picture. Thanks to Lily’s suggestion to save the biggest (and best) for last, everyone had their phones out, ready to witness and capture the moment of truth. Even Maleficent had her iPad.

“Here goes...” Emma murmured. First, she removed the big blue bow on the corner and stuck in on Henry’s shirt, earning her a laugh and a silly “Ma!” from him. Then, she pulled and tore the red holiday wrapping paper to reveal the large, though clueless, cardboard box. Good start. From the corner of her eye, Emma could see Lily claiming the arm of her couch closest to the tree for the best view, a grin on her face the Cheshire Cat himself couldn’t outdo.

There wasn’t any tape on the lid of the box, allowing the lid to be removed easily to reveal newspaper... and another wrapped box.

Emma shrugged, removing some of the newspaper so she had more room, and went on doing the same as before. This time she gave a green bow to little Robin, who put it on top of her head and sang “Ta-da!” to the adoring crowd.

Pink tissue paper was in this box, and in it was yet another cardboard box. The only difference was the size.

“What the...?” Above her, Lily snickered. Emma lifted her head to look her in the eye, an incredulous smile on her face. “Oh, you didn’t...!”

Lily only nodded. “Like I said, I think I really outdid myself this year.”

And on and on it went, layer upon layer upon layer. Three more boxes followed the first two. Then a bag. A box inside the bag. Another box, and another, two more boxes. After the thirteenth box, Emma called for a break.

“What? Don’t stop now, you’re almost done!” Lily urged, “Keep going!”

Emma heaved a sigh and looked around. Everyone was still watching her through their phones, iPads, camcorders, being surrounded by boxes, bags, bubble-wrap, newspapers, and tissue paper. Even Neal and Robin were quietly observing whilst fingering their own toys.

“C’mon, Mom,” Henry said as he took a seat next to Lily, phone in hand. “Look at the size of the box, it’s way smaller than the start.”

That was true. It was square, perfectly resting on her lap. She opened the lid to reveal more newspapers, and then another bag.

An even smaller box.

An even smaller bag.

A freakin’ origami box.

And then... the smallest black box no bigger than her hand.

Emma’s heart skipped. Someone gasped, probably Mom, or even Zelena. Slowly, she lifted her head to meet Lily’s eye one more time.

“You didn’t...” she whispered.

Lily’s lying game was always on point. Her poker face, unmatched. She tossed her hair behind her shoulder and merely shrugged, no hint of a smile, no sign of nervousness. No help.

Slowly, Emma opened the black ring box...

 

... and almost dropped it.

A ring, with a sun at its crown, greeted her eyes in silver. As she stared at it awestruck, Lily hopped off the couch and crawled towards her.

“So, uh, normally you’d be sitting on the couch or standing, but this is fine, too, I guess,” she said with a chuckle. She clasped warm hands around Emma’s, lowering the ring box with the beautiful ring to her lap, and cleared her throat. Emma picked up her jaw as she looked into Lily’s eyes. “Look, we’ve been through a lot, and Lord knows I’ve put you through a lot—” they eyed the mess around them with Lily offering a sheepish grin, “—but I want to keep going. And I had this whole speech planned, and it was corny as hell, and watching you struggle opening all those boxes, I... I know I won’t be able to wait that long so...” It was her turn to swallow. “Emma Swan, will you do me the honor...”

Emma’s breath hitched as Lily lifted the box again to show her the ring once more. The corner of her lips twitched, threatening a smile.

“... and marry me?”

“Yes!” It wasn’t loud enough, she wasn’t sure if she even heard herself say it. “Yes! Oh, my God, yes, of course, I’ll marry you!”

Lily beamed. “Really?!”

Retracting her hand, Emma cupped Lily’s cheek and eased her into a quick, playful kiss. “Hell yeah.”


End file.
